English Article

Humanitarian Corridor

Russia offers humanitarian corridors.

Russia announced humanitarian corridors would open in several Ukrainian cities on Monday, after terrified civilians came under fire in two previous attempts and with Moscow’s forces pummelling cities across the country. As international pressure mounted over horrifying scenes of civilians cut down while fleeing, Moscow’s Defence Ministry announced plans for humanitarian corridors from several bombarded cities and said a “regime of silence” had started at 0700 GMT. Russia proposed safe passage for people from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy, after French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine dismissed Moscow’s offer to create humanitarian corridors on Monday after it emerged that exit routes would lead refugees into Russia or its ally Belarus, raising questions over the safety of those who might use them. “This is not an acceptable option,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Russia’s negotiator at the peace talks, Vladimir Medinsky, in return accused Ukraine of the “war crime” of blocking the corridors. Violence raged 12 days into the war, even as a third round of peace negotiations was starting on Monday and the Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers eyed talks in Turkey later this week. The Russian invasion has pushed more than 1.5 million people across Ukraine’s borders in what the UN calls Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since Second World War, and sparked fears of a wider conflict. International sanctions intended to punish Moscow have done little to slow the invasion, and Washington said it was now discussing a ban on Russian oil imports with Europe.